Rover not all over yet

MG Rover may yet get a reprieve from the automotive scrap heap.

China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp has written to the administrators of the collapsed company to express interest in buying some of its assets, according to Automotive News.

Shanghai Automotive, which was in talks on partnering with MG Rover before it collapsed, said it had expressed "preliminary interest" in stripping some of the car-makers assets. MG Rover is yet to respond.

It is interested in some of MG Rover's research and development equipment and tooling systems for K-Series engine production.

Shanghai Automotive had ruled out buying MG Rover businesses as a going concern. It has not yet decided whether to make cars in China based on Rover models after having acquired the rights to do so.

The 100-year-old British car-maker collapsed last month after it ran out of money and failed to secure a rescue deal with Shanghai Automotive.

Administrators have said that more than 200 parties expressed initial interest in buying MG Rover assets.